So what about your lawn during the winter? We want to make sure that you have a healthy
lawn going into the winter months and throughout the dormancy period.
Hi, I'm Amber with DoMyOwn.com. I'm here to talk to you about some of the main questions
we're getting right now about what to do in your lawn and what other steps you take to
make sure you are healthy going into the spring.
Right now, a lot of people are asking if they can put a pre emergent down in the winter.
But in the winter months, normally you're past the point of effectively getting the
chemical down to really do the work that you're wanting it to do. There are specific times
during the year that pre-emergents are going to be most effective: spring and fall.
While you can put a pre emergent down now in the winter months, you really aren't going
to see much control as any weed cycles are not going to happen until later when that
pre emergent may have already broken down at that point or earlier in the season when
you really needed it to get down ahead of that germination cycle.
We get a lot of calls about post emergent herbicide this time of year. You have dormant
lawns and winter weeds popping up and they can often be unsightly. For most of the country,
there's really not much you can do. Post emergent herbicides really need to put down when soil
temperatures are 55 degrees or higher and the weeds are in an actively growing state.
A lot of you will say - but they look like they are actively growing now. For regions
like Florida, Louisiana, California, and even some southern parts of Texas, you're absolutely
correct. Your lawn can look dormant and still have weeds growing right now. But since soil
temperatures play such a big role in how the plant absorbs the chemical you are putting
on it, the fluctuations of temperatures can really effect the way that chemical performs.
You can try using a post emergent with things like a 2-4-D Ester formulation or some other
herbicides on the market that are labeled to be used in cooler temperatures. Just know,
spotty results and slower uptake can be expected. You may not see results right away or you
may not see results as quickly as you normally would when using that herbicide in the summer
months or fall months or you may not see results at all depending on where you are located
and the specific weed species that you're targeting.
Fertilizers come up a lot. Can I use them now? My yard's dormant. What's going to be
best for winter risers or getting my yard ready for spring? Many yards may be able to
take a fertilizer down in the fall and winter months and even leading up into early spring.
But what you wanna keep in mind is low nitrogen or no nitrogen at all needs to be put down.
You can always use fertilizers that have a higher Phosphorus or Potassium because those
are ingredients that the lawn can typically absorb still even during those cooler months
when it's less active and there's less energy being produced by the plants.
Nitrogen is not something that you're gonna need unless the lawn is actually growing.
Also keep in mind excess Nitrogen during the winter months can cause fungal diseases to
grow and pop up in your lawn in the spring- and nobody wants that. So let's keep Nitrogen
out of the mix and only use the fertilizers if we really have to in the winter months
and then focus on the spring months when it's starting to come out of dormancy.
Fungicides are something that can honestly be used kind of year round. They are always
gonna work better on a preventative basis. If youre someone who is maybe wondering - did
I put my Nitrogen fertilizer down a little too late in the season? If you're worried
about that, definitely look into using some fungicides this winter or early Spring to
make sure you're getting well ahead of any spores that may be starting to be created
in the lawn.
The spores can lay dormant for a while, but once those soil temperatures start warming,
the humidity starts rising, and all the other factors that go along with Spring and your
turf greening up, you want to make sure you have something laying in wait to stop any
of those spores in their tracks.
What about mowing your lawn in the winter? Now, normally most turfs are dormant and not
growing and really are not going to require a mowing unless you live in some of the Northern
regions where you have a cool season lawn that may continue to provide a little bit
of growth before the snow hits.
Be sure when you're mowing for the last couple of times of the year, that you leave your
lawn height a little bit higher. This just helps to make sure that it's going to be strong
and withstand anything that mother nature tends to throw at it.
You also wanna make sure when you are getting to the point where your lawn is dormant, things
are getting frozen, having freezing temperatures in general on the turf, that you walk on it
as little as possible. Walking on the turf when it's frozen can absolutely damage it,
it could break it in places, it could just cause a lot of unsightly spots, and you want
to make sure you don't do any unnecessary damage.
What can I do in my lawn in the winter months? Well, there's a few things you can do to really
get it ready for the spring. One of those being - Lime. A lot of customers are going
to want to look to put down lime or need to put down lime depending on what their soil
pH levels are and just how their turf responds in general. Having the ideal pH level of your
soil is gonna help your lawn all around all year long.
It's gonna help it be healthy and make sure it's taking up every bit of fertilizer that
you're putting down, because you definitely want to make sure that your efforts aren't
being wasted.
Some other things you can do is get a soil test done. Getting your soil test done is
normally gonna take a few weeks to get those results back during the winter is a great
way to get ahead for the spring. You'll know exactly what is going on in your lawn and
be better prepared for how you can treat it and what products to put down to benefit you
the most.
If your lawn's hibernating, you should be too. If you liked this video, don't forget
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videos.